TICK TOCK: Trump’s time to pay NY fraud penalty winding down

All right, can someone, anyone, spot Donald Trump? Maybe half a billion dollars, I'm being a little facetious here, but to make the point that Letitia James has her way, the Attorney General of New York State, he's got to come up with $454 billion by Monday or she starts taking and seizing some properties. First to Andrew Tchaikovsky on this, the former federal prosecutor, what happens if he doesn't get that money together and how that might roll out? Andrew, we don't know, but what do you think? Well not only would Letitia James start the seizure of the property, but he could lose his appellate rights. Now there is an appeal currently pending with the appellate division where Donald Trump lays out the ask for a stay on the half a billion dollar fine that has to be filed ahead of the appeal. He lays it out in good order. He says that the statute specifically allows it. He's got examples of when it was used. He has examples of why the judge is likely to be overruled by the appellate court in this case. He of course has a very strong argument with the Eighth Amendment. He really has a strong argument. I'm disappointed that the court didn't come out on Friday with a decision on that. I think their credibility depends on it. We've seen how badly Judge Engeron was dragged through the mud about his bias and his prejudice through the course of this. I think the appellate court wants to maintain their neutrality here and they should, I really again, would have hoped them to have come out with a decision yesterday, but by Monday midday I would hope that they have something. You know Andrew, so much of this is unprecedented anyway, but why couldn't the judge do just that and just say, all right, we don't want to come up and make him come up with half a billion dollars. I mean, he's not a flight risk. He's the most recognizable face of the planet probably. Nowhere for him to hide. It's not as if he's going to try to hide. So what would be the harm of, I don't know, a hundred million dollar bond or anything like that? Well, I'm as confused on that one as you, but we can look to what Letitia James says on that. Her argument on that is number one, the statute doesn't provide for an exception to the payment. She's wrong on that. The law allows for it. There's precedent on that, but that's what she says. Plus this payment and this punishment is unlike any in history. In fact, it's the first time such a law has been enacted and enforced in history. So that seems specious to me, but go ahead. Well, you're right on. I mean, when you look at the law, the idea of having this payment ahead of the appeal is to make sure that people aren't judgment proof or they're not going to leave the jurisdiction or somehow waste the property that they need in order to pay the judgment. That's not an issue with Donald Trump. He doesn't have it in cash, he says in his filings, but he has it in his real estate. That's a perfectly reasonable excuse under these circumstances to have the security of the judgment there, but to not have it in that cash form that's necessary for the bond. So all of the reasons are there for an exception in this case. And then we really can't forget about the Eighth Amendment. Even if his time passes on Monday, where he can no longer file the appeal, I do think he still has appellate options under extraordinary risk to ask for relief because the Eighth Amendment has been violated. My concern is that it will eliminate or reduce his ability to appeal on some of the other issues. But even if he doesn't come up with it, there are still paths to appeal this and Letitia James will move forward however she moves forward. But I think this is something that could weave its way to the Supreme Court. Wild. Very wild. Andrew, thank you so much. I'm Steve Doocy. I'm Brian Kilmeade. And I'm Ainsley Earhardt. And click here to subscribe to the Fox News YouTube page to catch our hottest interviews and most compelling analysis.